Mother Dearest
A Batman Beyond FanFiction
Written by: Celestial Moon
E-Mail: ArmaniGirlAX@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: I do not (sadly) own Terry McGinnis. This story is purely fictional. Some of the characters are my own, etc etc. This is just for the enjoyment of all of you. Please leave some feedback :D
Part 7
Wednesday 7:58 PM
Skyline Apartments
Wu Residence
As nice as the name of the development sounded, the actual place was a different story altogether.
Terry approached the main gate to the complex, avoiding tires carelessly strewn about and other random pieces of garbage that the people felt the need to not discard properly.
Before him was something that had the potential of being a beautiful garden. Instead, he found himself standing in a mass of weeds that had grown up to his knees, more garbage, and insects.
Everything was so gray, so run down. It was obvious that anyone living here obviously did not have the money to live anywhere else. It was a side of Gotham that was rarely seen in daylight and never seen at night.
Terry had heard about this area of town. Frequent drive by shootings had caused the development to depreciate rapidly. The crime rate was at an insane level. This was the area that was never mentioned in travel guides to the beautiful Gotham City. It was the embarrassment, the black sheep of the bustling metropolis.
He wasn't afraid, but he knew better than to be here any later. He was lucky that at this point of the year, it was still rather light out.
Before him stood a kid.
"Hey, can you tell me where building D is?" Terry called out.
The kid only stared. Terry took a few steps closer, stopping dead in his tracks when he noticed the gleam in the hand of the child, who could not have been any older than 7 or 8. His black hair reminded Terry slightly of his younger brother, but the eyes were much older. The eyes told of countless nights of sitting by the window with a weapon, prepared to attack if anyone were to come in. Countless nights of not being able to have dinner because they family simply couldn't afford it.
Terry pulled out a cred, not from fear, but from pity. He didn't have much money, but this child didn't have any. "Buy some food with this for you and your family." He held the cred out in his hand.
With trepidation, the child stepped forward. He knew better than to accept things from strangers, but he could see something in Terry's eyes that he had never seen before. Care.
The knife that had been in his hand miraculously disappeared. He took the credit slowly, then spun away. Terry watched him disappear into the tall weeds, finding himself alone again.
He was surrounded on three sides by five buildings. He found a building marked 'D' and walked towards it, carefully avoiding the broken glass that had lined the cracked pavement. The door was half open, the lock already twisted and bent out of shape after being broken into. There was no light in the hallway he found himself in except the light from outside the door. He opened the door wider, watching the place slowly illuminate with a gray light. Every imaginable surface was streaked with dirt and blood. He saw lights above him, but the bulbs were already cracked and broken off. He saw two doors on both sides of him, and a rickety wooden staircase that led upstairs stood before him. He opted for the stairs because the address that Bruce had given him said Floor 5. The wood creaked when he placed his black boots on the first step. Terry had a sudden fear that everything would come caving down.
He climbed slowly up the stairs, passing the first floor, then second. On the third floor he found a bulging white sack with blood running down a hole in the side. Terry preferred to not know what was in the sack. He continued up the stairs to the fifth floor.
There was a door to his left and to his right. The left door had a "One" imprinted in chalk. The other door had nothing. He turned to his left and knocked, not able to find a doorbell.
It took a while before he heard footsteps on the other side. Slowly, the door creaked open until the chain was pulled to its entire length.
"Yes?"
"Hi, my name is Terry. I'm looking for Christina? I'm from her school."
The door shut and then reopened. Christina stood before him, pale and sickly looking.
"Hi, Terry. What can I do for you?" They had rarely spoken to each other outside of school, not to mention inside school.
"I heard about your mother, and I'm very sorry. I just wanted to give you this." Terry took out a small gift wrapped box from his pocket and held it out. It was a small bracelet and a check for 1,500 dollars, courtesy of Bruce Wayne. Both knew how hard it must have been for the family.
Christina opened the door wider. "Would you like to come in?" she asked, not looking at the box. Terry took a step into the room. It was a small living room with a very run down and worn couch. The paint was stripping from the walls and water stains ran down from the ceiling.
"Would you like some water?"
"Yes, please," Terry said. Christina pointed to the couch and disappeared into a doorway. Terry slowly sat down, looking around the room. It had the bare essentials of living. Christina reappeared and sat down besides him after handing him the glass of water.
Despite the utter dreariness of the room, Terry could tell that they had taken pains in keeping the place clean. He looked at her, seeing just how weak and tired she had become in the past week.
"I know this must be really hard for you, that's why I came by. If there's anything I can possibly do..." Terry began, then trailed off.
"Your father died earlier this year, didn't he?"
"Y-Yes he did."
"Murdered?"
"... Yes."
"Do you miss him?"
Terry looked down at the glass. "All the time. It's hard to understand that I'll never see his face or hear his voice again."
"I still expect my mother to walk through the door. It's very unpleasant, isn't it?"
"It really is."
"I can't accept anything from you, Terry."
Terry placed the box in her hand. "Yes, you can. I just want to help. It's not much, but it's something to help you and your family."
"I am very grateful."
Terry nodded. A long silence followed.
She coughed.
"Do you have any idea why... it happened?" Terry asked.
She shook her head. Out of the corner of his eye, Terry saw a tear slide slowly down her face.
"I'm sure the cops..."
She shook her head more violently. "They can't do anything! They have combed every inch of this... this mess! They have spoken to everyone in this building. Nothing was heard, nothing is known."
"Christina, have some faith."
"But why her? She didn't do anything wrong. She...She..." Christina covered her face with her hands and sobbed freely. "Terry, I don't know what to do anymore. I can't go back to school, I can't face any people."
Terry placed his arm around her body shoulders and held her. "I know this is a really rough time... But, I promise you. They will find the monster who did this." She pulled away and looked at him, tears shining in her eyes.
"I really hope they do. I can't stand not knowing why. I can't help but feel somewhat... responsible. If only I had been home..."
"Don't ever feel responsible. It's not your fault..." Terry said, trying to soothe her. Those same words had been spoken to him dozens of times before this, but he had never paid any attention. "You can't just stay here day after day by yourself. You have to go back to school."
"It's not all that bad, Terry."
"It is. It's not healthy for you. Please consider returning to school soon."
Christina didn't answer.
"Um, is there a bathroom I can use?"
"Sure, just go down that hallway. It's the last door on your right."
Terry stood up. "I'll be right back."
The hallway wasn't in any better condition than the living room. On his right, he passed two doorways. The first was the kitchen, and the second was closed off by a police sticker. It must have been the room that her mother was found in.
Looking back into the living room, Terry saw that Christina had her head down in her hands. He pulled off the sticker and opened the door silently.
A white silhouette of a woman was on the ground, pinpointing the exact position that she had been found. The room was neat and orderly, as if nothing had happened. On his left stood a ramshackle dresser with many photo frames sitting on top of it. Terry took a step closer, careful to avoid the died blood puddles on the yellow carpet. There were many pictures of Christina and her mother. In fact, there were only pictures of Christina and her mother. There was not a picture in sight of someone who could possibly be Christina's father.
Terry suddenly heard a noise in the living room so he quickly slipped out of the room and into the next room, the bathroom. He ran the sink for a few seconds then shut off the water. When he opened the door, he found Christina standing outside, leaning against the wall.
"I came to visit you during my lunch break, so I have to run now," Terry began awkwardly. Christina nodded.
"It was very sweet of you to visit." She looked down at the ground. "Here, let me walk you to the door."
Terry nodded and followed her back into the living room. She opened the door slowly, her eyes still refusing to look at him. "Um, Terry, thanks... For everything."
On impulse he leaned over and gave her a hug. "You're very welcome. Well, bye." He walked through the door and heard the door creak behind him. Suddenly, he heard a soft voice speak before shutting completely.
"Dana's very lucky to have someone like you, Terry."
Terry stood there. The statement was phrased innocently enough, but her voice had a deeper meaning to her words. He blinked. Clearing his head with a quick shake, he headed towards the stairs.
The door opposite the Wu's suddenly burst open without warning. Terry jumped back as a young man of about Terry's age stepped outside. He was carrying two large black garbage bags, both tied and knotted at the opening.
"Terry McGinnis."
It took Terry a while before his eyes registered who the person was.
"Jason Mannings."
He was a fellow student at Hamilton High. He had been in a few of Terry's classes, but they had never become friends. Jason had transferred to HH 2 years ago, when Terry was in the 10th grade.
Terry couldn't remember ever liking him.
"How are you?" Jason's tone was formal, unfriendly.
Terry smiled tightly. "I've been fine. Just visiting er, Christina."
Jason nodded. "Yeah, she's been really down about the entire thing," his voice was distant.
"Are you good friends with her?"
"Very good friends." Jason's eyes stared straight into Terry's. "How's Dana?"
Terry blinked. "Dana?" Why would Jason ask about Dana? "Dana's doing well."
Jason narrowed his eyes at Terry. "That's good then. It was nice speaking to you." With that, he took the two garbage bags and walked to the open window where he simply tossed the bags out. Terry stared.
"Nice speaking to you too." Terry started down the stairs, with the full intention of leaving and never returning.
"It's too bad, don't you think?"
Terry turned around and found Jason standing at the top of the staircase, staring wistfully at Christina's door.
"What do you mean?"
Jason looked down at Terry, his gaze sending chills up and down Terry's spine. "Mrs. Wu had just received a large raise. They were going to move to Metropolis. Christina would have had the chance to live in a better world."
"I wasn't aware of that."
"Not many people knew. Good bye, Terry. Give my regards to your family." Jason turned around and disappeared into his apartment.
Without looking back, Terry flew down the stairs and out into the cool night. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and on his neck. His heart was pounding, and he didn't know why. There was just something wrong with Jason.
A Batman Beyond FanFiction
Written by: Celestial Moon
E-Mail: ArmaniGirlAX@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: I do not (sadly) own Terry McGinnis. This story is purely fictional. Some of the characters are my own, etc etc. This is just for the enjoyment of all of you. Please leave some feedback :D
Part 7
Wednesday 7:58 PM
Skyline Apartments
Wu Residence
As nice as the name of the development sounded, the actual place was a different story altogether.
Terry approached the main gate to the complex, avoiding tires carelessly strewn about and other random pieces of garbage that the people felt the need to not discard properly.
Before him was something that had the potential of being a beautiful garden. Instead, he found himself standing in a mass of weeds that had grown up to his knees, more garbage, and insects.
Everything was so gray, so run down. It was obvious that anyone living here obviously did not have the money to live anywhere else. It was a side of Gotham that was rarely seen in daylight and never seen at night.
Terry had heard about this area of town. Frequent drive by shootings had caused the development to depreciate rapidly. The crime rate was at an insane level. This was the area that was never mentioned in travel guides to the beautiful Gotham City. It was the embarrassment, the black sheep of the bustling metropolis.
He wasn't afraid, but he knew better than to be here any later. He was lucky that at this point of the year, it was still rather light out.
Before him stood a kid.
"Hey, can you tell me where building D is?" Terry called out.
The kid only stared. Terry took a few steps closer, stopping dead in his tracks when he noticed the gleam in the hand of the child, who could not have been any older than 7 or 8. His black hair reminded Terry slightly of his younger brother, but the eyes were much older. The eyes told of countless nights of sitting by the window with a weapon, prepared to attack if anyone were to come in. Countless nights of not being able to have dinner because they family simply couldn't afford it.
Terry pulled out a cred, not from fear, but from pity. He didn't have much money, but this child didn't have any. "Buy some food with this for you and your family." He held the cred out in his hand.
With trepidation, the child stepped forward. He knew better than to accept things from strangers, but he could see something in Terry's eyes that he had never seen before. Care.
The knife that had been in his hand miraculously disappeared. He took the credit slowly, then spun away. Terry watched him disappear into the tall weeds, finding himself alone again.
He was surrounded on three sides by five buildings. He found a building marked 'D' and walked towards it, carefully avoiding the broken glass that had lined the cracked pavement. The door was half open, the lock already twisted and bent out of shape after being broken into. There was no light in the hallway he found himself in except the light from outside the door. He opened the door wider, watching the place slowly illuminate with a gray light. Every imaginable surface was streaked with dirt and blood. He saw lights above him, but the bulbs were already cracked and broken off. He saw two doors on both sides of him, and a rickety wooden staircase that led upstairs stood before him. He opted for the stairs because the address that Bruce had given him said Floor 5. The wood creaked when he placed his black boots on the first step. Terry had a sudden fear that everything would come caving down.
He climbed slowly up the stairs, passing the first floor, then second. On the third floor he found a bulging white sack with blood running down a hole in the side. Terry preferred to not know what was in the sack. He continued up the stairs to the fifth floor.
There was a door to his left and to his right. The left door had a "One" imprinted in chalk. The other door had nothing. He turned to his left and knocked, not able to find a doorbell.
It took a while before he heard footsteps on the other side. Slowly, the door creaked open until the chain was pulled to its entire length.
"Yes?"
"Hi, my name is Terry. I'm looking for Christina? I'm from her school."
The door shut and then reopened. Christina stood before him, pale and sickly looking.
"Hi, Terry. What can I do for you?" They had rarely spoken to each other outside of school, not to mention inside school.
"I heard about your mother, and I'm very sorry. I just wanted to give you this." Terry took out a small gift wrapped box from his pocket and held it out. It was a small bracelet and a check for 1,500 dollars, courtesy of Bruce Wayne. Both knew how hard it must have been for the family.
Christina opened the door wider. "Would you like to come in?" she asked, not looking at the box. Terry took a step into the room. It was a small living room with a very run down and worn couch. The paint was stripping from the walls and water stains ran down from the ceiling.
"Would you like some water?"
"Yes, please," Terry said. Christina pointed to the couch and disappeared into a doorway. Terry slowly sat down, looking around the room. It had the bare essentials of living. Christina reappeared and sat down besides him after handing him the glass of water.
Despite the utter dreariness of the room, Terry could tell that they had taken pains in keeping the place clean. He looked at her, seeing just how weak and tired she had become in the past week.
"I know this must be really hard for you, that's why I came by. If there's anything I can possibly do..." Terry began, then trailed off.
"Your father died earlier this year, didn't he?"
"Y-Yes he did."
"Murdered?"
"... Yes."
"Do you miss him?"
Terry looked down at the glass. "All the time. It's hard to understand that I'll never see his face or hear his voice again."
"I still expect my mother to walk through the door. It's very unpleasant, isn't it?"
"It really is."
"I can't accept anything from you, Terry."
Terry placed the box in her hand. "Yes, you can. I just want to help. It's not much, but it's something to help you and your family."
"I am very grateful."
Terry nodded. A long silence followed.
She coughed.
"Do you have any idea why... it happened?" Terry asked.
She shook her head. Out of the corner of his eye, Terry saw a tear slide slowly down her face.
"I'm sure the cops..."
She shook her head more violently. "They can't do anything! They have combed every inch of this... this mess! They have spoken to everyone in this building. Nothing was heard, nothing is known."
"Christina, have some faith."
"But why her? She didn't do anything wrong. She...She..." Christina covered her face with her hands and sobbed freely. "Terry, I don't know what to do anymore. I can't go back to school, I can't face any people."
Terry placed his arm around her body shoulders and held her. "I know this is a really rough time... But, I promise you. They will find the monster who did this." She pulled away and looked at him, tears shining in her eyes.
"I really hope they do. I can't stand not knowing why. I can't help but feel somewhat... responsible. If only I had been home..."
"Don't ever feel responsible. It's not your fault..." Terry said, trying to soothe her. Those same words had been spoken to him dozens of times before this, but he had never paid any attention. "You can't just stay here day after day by yourself. You have to go back to school."
"It's not all that bad, Terry."
"It is. It's not healthy for you. Please consider returning to school soon."
Christina didn't answer.
"Um, is there a bathroom I can use?"
"Sure, just go down that hallway. It's the last door on your right."
Terry stood up. "I'll be right back."
The hallway wasn't in any better condition than the living room. On his right, he passed two doorways. The first was the kitchen, and the second was closed off by a police sticker. It must have been the room that her mother was found in.
Looking back into the living room, Terry saw that Christina had her head down in her hands. He pulled off the sticker and opened the door silently.
A white silhouette of a woman was on the ground, pinpointing the exact position that she had been found. The room was neat and orderly, as if nothing had happened. On his left stood a ramshackle dresser with many photo frames sitting on top of it. Terry took a step closer, careful to avoid the died blood puddles on the yellow carpet. There were many pictures of Christina and her mother. In fact, there were only pictures of Christina and her mother. There was not a picture in sight of someone who could possibly be Christina's father.
Terry suddenly heard a noise in the living room so he quickly slipped out of the room and into the next room, the bathroom. He ran the sink for a few seconds then shut off the water. When he opened the door, he found Christina standing outside, leaning against the wall.
"I came to visit you during my lunch break, so I have to run now," Terry began awkwardly. Christina nodded.
"It was very sweet of you to visit." She looked down at the ground. "Here, let me walk you to the door."
Terry nodded and followed her back into the living room. She opened the door slowly, her eyes still refusing to look at him. "Um, Terry, thanks... For everything."
On impulse he leaned over and gave her a hug. "You're very welcome. Well, bye." He walked through the door and heard the door creak behind him. Suddenly, he heard a soft voice speak before shutting completely.
"Dana's very lucky to have someone like you, Terry."
Terry stood there. The statement was phrased innocently enough, but her voice had a deeper meaning to her words. He blinked. Clearing his head with a quick shake, he headed towards the stairs.
The door opposite the Wu's suddenly burst open without warning. Terry jumped back as a young man of about Terry's age stepped outside. He was carrying two large black garbage bags, both tied and knotted at the opening.
"Terry McGinnis."
It took Terry a while before his eyes registered who the person was.
"Jason Mannings."
He was a fellow student at Hamilton High. He had been in a few of Terry's classes, but they had never become friends. Jason had transferred to HH 2 years ago, when Terry was in the 10th grade.
Terry couldn't remember ever liking him.
"How are you?" Jason's tone was formal, unfriendly.
Terry smiled tightly. "I've been fine. Just visiting er, Christina."
Jason nodded. "Yeah, she's been really down about the entire thing," his voice was distant.
"Are you good friends with her?"
"Very good friends." Jason's eyes stared straight into Terry's. "How's Dana?"
Terry blinked. "Dana?" Why would Jason ask about Dana? "Dana's doing well."
Jason narrowed his eyes at Terry. "That's good then. It was nice speaking to you." With that, he took the two garbage bags and walked to the open window where he simply tossed the bags out. Terry stared.
"Nice speaking to you too." Terry started down the stairs, with the full intention of leaving and never returning.
"It's too bad, don't you think?"
Terry turned around and found Jason standing at the top of the staircase, staring wistfully at Christina's door.
"What do you mean?"
Jason looked down at Terry, his gaze sending chills up and down Terry's spine. "Mrs. Wu had just received a large raise. They were going to move to Metropolis. Christina would have had the chance to live in a better world."
"I wasn't aware of that."
"Not many people knew. Good bye, Terry. Give my regards to your family." Jason turned around and disappeared into his apartment.
Without looking back, Terry flew down the stairs and out into the cool night. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and on his neck. His heart was pounding, and he didn't know why. There was just something wrong with Jason.
